Bale, playing in a Real side made up largely of fringe players, converted coolly from the spot 10 minutes before half-time to notch his first goal in domestic competition since September.

The Welshman, whose campaign has been disrupted by a succession of injuries which have limited him to just six LaLiga appearances, sent goalkeeper Munir the wrong way with a penalty low into the left corner.

Numancia played the last 30 minutes with 10 men following a red card for Pape Maly Diamanka, but remained in the contest until the final stages when another penalty, this time from second-half substitute Isco, and a header from Borja Mayoral put the tie to bed.

Here are our player ratings.

Zidane before the game (Image: AFP)

Real Madrid

Casilla 5 - The Newcastle target didn't have a save to make but nearly caught off his line by long range Inigo Perez effort that hit the underside of the bar

Carvajal 6 - Only player to keep his place from El Clasico defeat and still seems to be suffering the after effects of a virus that recently kept him sidelined for two months

Nacho 7 - Captain for the night and showed why as one of few starters to escape with pass marks

Daniel Ceballos in action (Image: AFP)

Carvajal in action (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

Vallejo 5 - Once again showed his naivety by diving in to a challenge that earned him a yellow card